Phonological
Influences
Khmer speakers may demonstrate the following tendencies when
learning English pronunciation:
| Khmer |
English |
| Sound
Substitutions |
“k”
for “g” |
| |
“v”
for “w” |
| |
“f”
for “b” |
| |
“t”
for “th” |
| |
The
“r” sound will be approximated as a trill
“r”
The trill sounds like a rolling /r/ sound |
| Omission
of sounds |
Dropping
the final sounds on words ending in “r”,
“d”, “g”, “s”, “b”,
and “z”.
“Bob” is pronounced as “Bo”. |
| Distortion
of vowel sounds |
/e/,
/ i/, /u/, and /ae/
"head" is pronounced "hed"
"hit" - "hoot" |
Source: Battle, 1993
Grammatical Influences
Khmer speakers learning English may omit the following morphological
markers:
| Khmer |
English |
| Structure |
Possible Miscue
|
Structure |
| Plurals
|
|
|
|
(omission) |
I have two bird. |
I have two birds. |
|
Verbs |
|
|
|
To be (is)
|
He going.
|
He is going. |
| Past tense |
He
walk to the store. |
He
walked to the store. |
| Third
person present tense |
She
smile |
She
smiles |
| Auxiliary
verb (do/does) |
He
no like that. |
He
does not like that. |
| Prepositions |
|
|
In, at |
She
left 2:00. |
She
left at 2:00. |
| Possessives
|
|
| (‘s) |
This
is the girl brush. |
This
is the girl’s brush. |
| Articles
|
|
|
|
(the) |
We
go to park. |
We
go to the park. |
|
Pronouns |
|
|
| (she
for her) |
She hair is brown. |
Her
hair is brown. |
| (he
for his) |
He coat is warm. |
His
coat is warm. |
|
Adjectives |
|
|
|
(Comparatives) |
He is gooder.
|
He is better.
|
Source: Lowell Public Schools/Harvard University,
1999-2000 unpublished
There is a nonproductive morphology whereby prefixes and
infixes can, for example, derive causative type verbs from
simple verbs ("push down" from "go down,"
"put to sleep" from "sleep," "teach"
from "learn") and reciprocals from simple verbs
("love one another" from "love") or nouns
from verbs ("birth" from "be born"), and
so on.” (UCLA
Language Materials Project, n.d.)
Semantic Influences
Khmer speakers may demonstrate the following tendencies when learning English:
|
Cultural differences expressed
through words |
| Kinds of Words |
|
English |
| Gender |
Unmarked,
but distinctions can be made the context of the utterances
by using kinds of modifiers that have inherent referential
gender, such as words for "son," "daughter,"
"male," and "female." |
pronouns
such as “him” and “her” mark gender |
Number/Quantity
|
Inferred
by the context |
“some”,
“all” and “two” indicate plurals |
| Verb tense, aspect
and mood |
Unmarked |
past,
present, and future mark tenses with verbs |
| Personal Pronouns |
Has
a vast amount of personal pronouns which indicate social
standing, age, and level of personal closeness |
Pronouns
mark gender only |
Pragmatic Influences
| Khmer |
American
Majority Culture |
| Does not maintain
conversation on a topic for 2-3 conversational turns.
Khmer cultural styles/logic are circular in contrast to
the liner style used in English |
IMPLICATION:
Child may seem to digress from the topic or add what
appear to be irrelevant details from a majority cultural
perspective.
|
| The Khmer-background
child does not seek out clarification when the information
is unclear. |
IMPLICATION:
The child may display a tendency not to ask relevant questions
For example a Khmer-background child who has listened
to the teacher’s directions but does not understand
them will not ask for clarification and, therefore, does
not do anything. |
| Khmer is a non-tonal
language. It does not change rate, tone, or prosody*
of the language utterance. |
IMPLICATION:
The child may speak or read in a monotone voice. |
| Turn taking in conversation
is not used. |
IMPLICATION:
May show difficulty with the expectation to take turns
during conversation. |
| Children show respect
by avoiding eye contact thus looking down or away when
talking to parents, teachers or other adults. |
IMPLICATION:
Teachers or administrators viewing this through the eyes
of the U.S. majority-cultural perspective may assume that
such behavior demonstrates lack of interest, attention
or respect. For the unknown observer this may also be
misinterpreted as a sign of a disability such as ADHD,
pervasive developmental disorder or autism. |
* "The
study of the metrical structure of verse” (The American
heritage dictionary, 2000). |
